The 2025 WNBA season has arrived, and it's bound to be a season full of big moments. From the Liberty looking to defend the first title in franchise history to the ascension of Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, this season is bound to have a ton of big storylines.
But will it have a true mic drop moment?
You know what I mean. One of those plays where you know immediately that something huge has happened. That a player has transcended the present and become part of league history.
Here are the five biggest mic drop moments in WNBA history.
5. Dearica Hamby's long 3-pointer in the 2019 playoffs
This was one of the most absurd moments in WNBA history.
It was the second round of the 2019 playoffs, with the Sky and Aces facing off in a single-elimination game. The Sky led by two with 13.4 to go and had the ball. Courtney Vandersloot dribbled around the backcourt to kill clock then launched a pass into the frontcourt, right into the hands of Dearica Hamby.
And then, this happened:
Great work by Hamby to get into the passing lane and intercept this pass, but then she does something inexplicable.
With seven seconds still to play, down two points, Hamby launches an off balance three from close to the logo.
It made no sense in the moment. I still vividly remember watching this game live and staring in utter disbelief as Hamby fired this shot up. Surely, it wouldnt...
Oh, yeah, it went in.
Hamby's weird, off-balance 3-pointer put the Aces on top with about four seconds to play. It wasn't a true buzzer beater because the Sky still had four seconds left, but it was an emphatic moment that sent the Aces through o the semifinals.
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4. Diana Taurasi's game winner to win the 2014 Finals
Diana Taurasi and the Mercury won three titles together, but you can argue that none was bigger than 2014. It was, ultimately, the only time Taurasi and Brittney Griner won a championship together.
Taurasi capped off the title with a huge game-winning shot. With the score between Phoenix and Chicago tied at 82 all, Taurasi drove in and took an off-balance 2-pointer.
The shot fell and Taurasi was fouled as well, and Phoenix took a late lead that it wouldn't give him.
The win completed the three-game sweep for the Mercury. After going to Game 5 in the team's first two championship seasons, Taurasi and company were unstoppable against the Sky, putting an emphatic period on the 2014 season.
3. Nneka Ogwumike's putback to win the 2016 Finals
The Minnesota Lynx were the great team of the 2010s, winning four titles in the decade. It was almost five, but the Sparks managed to capture the 2016 title in a closely contested series that went all the way to the buzzer of Game 5.
The Lynx led by one with under 10 seconds to play when Los Angeles guard Chelsea Gray drove in and took a jumper in the paint. The shot rimmed out, but Nneka Ogwumike was there for the offensive board.
However, Minnesota's Sylvia Fowles was also there, swatting away Ogwumike's attempt at the putback. Luckily for the Sparks, the ball landed right back in Ogwumike's hands. Her second attempt wouldn't be denied. Off-balance, fading away, Ogwumike's shot swished through the net and the Sparks were WNBA champions.
Imagine a world where Ogwumike doesn't make that second shot. The Lynx win the title, their second in a row, and after winning the 2017 title, they become just the second team in league history to win three or more consecutive championships. Suddenly, discussions about the best dynasty in league history have to go beyond the Comets fourpeat. Half the titles in the 2010s would have belonged to Minnesota.
Instead, Ogwumike sent the Sparks home as champions.
2. Cynthia Cooper's back-to-back clutch games to close out the four-peat
Cynthia Cooper didn't hit any buzzer beaters in the 2000 WNBA Finals, but her late shotmaking was crucial in the Houston Comets completing the four-peat.
What's more, the 2000 Finals were also the end of Cooper's storied career, as she retired following it.
So, how did Cooper drop the mic in this series?
It started in Game 1. Cooper scored 20 points, but none were more important than a late and-1 that pushed the Houston lead over New York to two possessions.
Cooper was even more important in Game 2. With under 30 seconds to play, the Comets trailed by three, but Cooper drained a game-tying 3-pointer to take the game to overtime.
There are people who say Cooper is the GOAT. The 2000 WNBA Finals are great ammunition for those arguments.
1. T-Spoon hits The Shot
I was conflicted if this counted as a true mic drop moment, as the New York Liberty went on to lose the next game to the Comets, but ultimately The Shot was so iconic that nothing that happened a few days later can take away from how emphatic and how powerful it was.
This was the defining moment for the WNBA.
This might be the moment everyone imagines when you ask them what the best moment in league history was.
It's the 1999 WNBA Finals. The Comets won Game 1 and lead late in Game 2 as the team looks to capture its third consecutive WNBA title. The Liberty don't have a timeout. The clock sits at 2.4 seconds. Feels pretty hopeless, right?
Teresa Weatherspoon gets the ball. She's under pressure. There's nowhere to go. She dribbles forward, but has to fire up a 3-pointer from the halfcourt line. The Comets can feel themselves taking home the title the moment the ball's released.
And then, it goes in.
It seriously goes in.
Disbelief.
Weatherspoon's on the ground. Her teammates charge at her and pile on top.
The nascent league has its marquee moment. It was the clip that can define it for years to come. It has a legend.
Would it be a better story if the Liberty had won Game 3? Sure.
But even without that fairytale ending, Weatherspoon created the greatest moment the league had seen at that point and arguably what's still the greatest moment in league history. If that's not a mic drop moment, what is?